Classic Cars With Bob Gelber

Prices are really getting crazy. Just last week, Steve McQueen's 1964 Ferrari Lusso Berlinetta was sold at auction for over two million dollars. What caught my attention about that sale price was the fact that in 1967 I owned a Ferrari Lusso, which coincidentally was the exact color combination of McQueen's. Having purchased the car in Italy from the Ferrari dealer in Florence for $4,200, I had it shipped back to America and used it for several absolutely trouble free years, in and around Manhattan and the Hamptons. It was a great car, considered by many, including myself, to be the most attractive of the 250 GT series of Ferrari motorcars. But more than two million dollars? The McQueen ownership obviously gave it a stellar provenance. I sold mine for $5,000 around 1970, it was low mileage and perfect. Should I have kept it?

Everything is getting weirdly expensive. Yes, I know, all you Hampton home owners, especially those who have owned their home for over ten years, have suddenly become happy millionaires. But if you sell your home, what do you buy? It's the same fate of the collector car owner. Wow, the guy has a valuable car, but if he sells it, he can never replace it with a similar model, unless he wants to reinvest his profit. Most people who own a house in the Hamptons, or for that matter, a high quality collectable like a vintage Ferrari, are not eager to sell and trade down to a house in Riverhead or a Mazda Miata.

I recently spoke with a friend who told me that his cousin just spent $80,000 on a custom van. Of course, he didn't tell his wife the real price, she would have killed him. I personally have flown an airplane, along with some buddies, from Brookhaven airport to one of many airports in Connecticut for a snack. Including the airplane rental and fuel, these flights are commonly called the $100 burger trip. Anyone who flies an airplane knows that this type of expense is usually kept from one's spouse. What about the guy who owns a twin engine sport fishing boat? If he takes the boat from Montauk to the "Canyon" for some serious fishing, the fuel bill alone is something he doesn't want to mention. What one catches is usually called the $1,000 fish. It actually makes flying a plane look cheap. It's a man thing. How many of you out there have done restorations or even simple paint jobs or repairs on a car that were so expensive you were not only scared to tell your wife, but close relatives. The weird truth is that you usually bragged about the price only to your car buddies. If it was really expensive, the repair or paint job had to be the best. Right?

Let me give you guys out there some food for thought, clues from the other side. My wife, who really looks like a model, reads Harper's Bazaar monthly. She occasionally peruses my Road and Track magazines, once in a while I glance at her Harper's Bazaar. After all, the models in there are pretty. What caught my attention were the insane prices of some of the woman's clothes and accessories. Get this, a Ferragamo handbag - $17,000. That's the cost of a Honda! A pair of Bottega Veneta sandals - $1,000, not much there with little, skimpy straps and Diesel jeans for $400. Denim is denim, what are they, crazy? It dawned on me that while we guys are hiding our "hobby" expenses, so are the girls. Their hobby is shopping. In all honesty, both my wife and I do look aghast at the prices of clothing and accessories in the high fashion magazines. Seeing these cadaverous models in their mega dollar, flowing designer outfits is no different than looking at terrific and absurdly sleek concept cars that have $200,000 plus price tags. We all know the odds are that we will never own any of them. Both men and women like to dream and often spend outrageous sums, but on very different items.

Forget cars, bicycles are a small fortune these days. Remember those affordable Schwinns of the past? Of course, you can still buy a very presentable Huffy at Costco for $69.95. But today, a proper and serious bicycle costs $10,000. What has Lance Armstrong wrought? What we used to call "English Racers" are made of expensive carbon fiber and other high tech materials. The fastest, lightest and most expensive bicycles weigh less than fourteen pounds. For the best of the best, $10,000 is a starting price. Pound for pound, a proper bike costs more than the most expensive Ferrari. Hey, these bikes do get excellent fuel mileage.

Bob Gelber, an automotive journalist living in the Hamptons, appears regularly on television as an automotive expert. You can email him at bobgelber@aol.com

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